IDA Research Staff participate actively in various professional activities – both within their disciplines and ancillary to them – including publishing in the open literature. Below are some recent citations of IDA Researchers and their work.
STPI Science Policy Fellows and Research Staff Members helped facilitate the Office of Science and Technology Policy (OSTP) State-Federal STEM Education Summit(Open external link), held June 25 and 26 at the National Science Foundation. The STPI team is working with OSTP to support the development of a new federal five-year strategic plan for STEM education in compliance with the America COMPETES [Creating Opportunities to Meaningfully Promote Excellence in Technology, Education, and Science] Reauthorization Act of 2010.
SFRD’s Joe Adams presided over the commencement of the MORS 86th symposium(Open external link) hosted by the Naval Postgraduate School in Monterey, California, completing his term as MORS President. The symposium involved more than 900 participants and 700 distinct research presentations.
IDA congratulates IAD Research Staff Member Karen Buckley on completion of her Doctor of Philosophy in Public Policy at George Mason University through the IDA Scholar Award program.
IAD’s Garrett Redfield’s article “North Korea: A Strava Perspective(Open external link)” was published in the May 31 online issue of The Diplomat. His article analyzes patterns evident in the Strava (a mobile phone fitness app company) “heatmap” and discusses what they may imply about Pyongyang’s policy toward foreigner interactions with its citizens.
ITSD’s Randy Simpson received the Best Paper Award from the International Conference on Computer Science and Applications 2017, for his paper on “Enterprise Level Security: Insider Threat Counter-Claims(Open external link).” The award is based on reviewer reports and evaluation score results from conference committee members during the conference.
IDA congratulates ITSD Research Associate Miranda Seitz-McLeese on completion of her Masters of Science program in Applied Mathematics and Statistics at Georgetown University through the IDA Scholar Award program.
CCR-P’s Director David Saltman appeared as a panelist(Open external link) at the National Museum of Mathematics(Open external link), sharing what a typical day of math looks like for him. He appeared with three other mathematicians: Julia Kemp, who works in quantitative finance; Alex Kontorovich, a Professor of Math at Rutgers; and Ken Perlin is a Professor in the Department of Computer Science at NYU and the Director of the Future Reality Lab. The museum is the country’s only museum dedicated to mathematics.
SFRD’s Peter Levine was a guest on the Government Matters(Open external link) program on May 23. He discussed the proposed cuts to the fourth estate in the House version of the 2019 National Defense Authorization Act as well as the restructuring efforts going on throughout the Department of Defense.
STPI’s Bhavya Lal testified Thursday, May 17, before the House Science, Space, and Technology Committee(Open external link) on IDA research contained in IDA Publication P-8247: Market Analysis of a Privately Owned and Operated Space Station(Open external link). The hearing live-streamed on the committee’s website(Open external link) and on their YouTube channel(Open external link). Her testimony received coverage(Open external link) in the media(Open external link).
JAWD Researcher Robert Richbourg’s article “It’s Either a Panda or a Gibbon: AI Winters and the Limits of Deep Learning(Open external link)” has been published in the May 10 War on the Rocks. In it, Dr. Richbourg discusses the concept of the artificial intelligence “winter.” He also suggests defense analysts assume a note of caution when considering the potential benefits of AI to the military enterprise.
In a new publication from PLOS ONE(Open external link), STPI researchers (pictured from left to right) Shirley Han, Sharon Williams, and Brian Zuckerman investigated the amount of translational research produced from three types of NIH-funded research awards between 2008 and 2014: basic research grants in the behavioral and social sciences, applied research grants in the behavioral and social sciences, and the Clinical and Translational Science Award (CTSA), a program that specifically targets translational research.
The study, which stemmed from STPI research for the National Institutes of Health, is based on IDA Publication NSD-8895. PLOS ONE described the results in this press release(Open external link).
The Modern War Institute at West Point recently put out a list of 15 “War Books: Preparing for Urban Warfare(Open external link),” in which JAWD’s Alec Wahlman’s Storming the City: U.S. Military Performance in Urban Warfare from World War II to Vietnam is included. On a related note, MORS intends to conduct a “special meeting” on urban warfare next year (April 2019 in Quantico); Dr. Wahlman will be a co-chair for that meeting.
CARD’s Mike Dominguez has been selected to chair a National Academy of Public Administration panel that will provide an organizational assessment of the Defense Nuclear Facilities Safety Board (DNFSB). The DNFSB is an independent body that provides recommendations and advice to the President and the Secretary of Energy regarding public health and safety issues at Department of Energy defense nuclear facilities.
CARD’s Dave Hunter was elected in December to a two-year term as the Vice President (Meetings) of the INFORMS(Open external link) [Institute for Operations Research and the Management Sciences] Roundtable(Open external link). Dr. Hunter has been the IDA representative on the INFORMS Roundtable since 2011.
STPI’s Seth Jonas and William Murtagh of NOAA’s Space Weather Prediction Center, writing for Eos Editor’s Vox, address the issue of space weather incidents and how the Nation might face them in their front-page article “White House Seeks Input to Update Space Weather Strategy(Open external link).”
JAWD’s Mark Nutsch, a former Special Forces Commander and current IDA Adjunct RSM, is featured in a YouTube clip(Open external link) where he talks about the upcoming film, 12 Strong (January 19 release). Mr. Nutsch, former commander, Special Forces Operational Detachment Alpha (SFODA) 595, is portrayed by Chris Hemsworth in the new movie. An IDA/DARPA team traveled to Afghanistan in October/November of 2002 with Mark and other members of his team to collect information to recreate the battle in simulation and multimedia in a task led by JAWD – Mazar-e Sharif Battle Reconstruction – A 21st Century Textbook. The IDA YouTube trailer for IDA’s project is located at Learning from the First Victory of the 21st Century: Mazar-e Sharif(Open external link).
President Trump is nominating CARD Senior Fellow John E. Whitley to serve as assistant secretary of the Army for financial management and comptroller. Dr. Whitley has served in IDA’s Cost Analysis and Research Division since 2010.
IDA President David S.C. Chu will speak(Open external link) at the Bipartisan Policy Center (BPC) in a session Thursday, January 18; the program will run from 10 am to noon. The general topic is Citizen Soldiers or Warrior Caste: Who will serve in America’s future military? Dr. Chu will summarize the principal points in the F.A.S.T. Report(Open external link) from the BPC panel of which he was a member.
SFRD’s Michael Guggisberg just published “Misspecified Discrete Choice Models and Huber-White Standard Errors” in the Journal of Econometric Methods. Although IDA does not subscribe to the journal, you can reach the abstract page(Open external link).
IDA President David S.C. Chu was recently interviewed(Open external link) on News Channel 8’s Government Matters, a multi-platform news program dedicated to providing nonpartisan information and analysis to federal managers, contractors, and those supporting the federal marketplace. In the most recent posting, Dr. Chu discussed the Defense Department’s policy change for civilian layoffs during a workforce reduction. This video and others are posted on IDA’s YouTube channel(Open external link).
IAD’s Jim Carlson was recently presented with the MASINT Founder’s Award. This award is presented by the Advanced Technical Intelligence Association(Open external link) (formerly MASINT) to recognize outstanding individuals who have distinguished themselves through a lifetime of significant professional service of benefit to national MASINT goals and objectives. This award is particularly notable in that it is not given every year – only on select occasions.
Rick Ledgett, who retired in April after nearly three decades at the NSA and was elected to IDA’s Board of Trustees in November, received the National Security Medal(Open external link) from President Trump in an afternoon presentation in the Oval Office on January 4.
CARD’s John Whitley gave an engaging hour-long interview with Michael J. Keegan on Insight by Business of Government Hour(Open external link) on Federal News Radio on January 9. He discussed his article Five Actions to Improve Military Hospital Performance(Open external link) (IDA publication D-8758) and how DoD could use the Congressional reform direction that has been provided to improve mission accomplishment and control costs.
STPI’s Leslie Abrahams was quoted as an expert in “Increased LNG Exports Would Spell Trouble for Climate — Study(Open external link),” in the December 15 E&E News. The article referenced Dr. Abrahams’ Ph.D. work, which is relevant to her current STPI portfolio.
STD researcher Shelley Cazares, who participated in a 6-week NASA closed-habitat experiment at the Johnson Space Center [Human Exploration Research Analog (HERA)], is featured in the 2017 Johnson Space Center Year in Review(Open external link) (see her at the 2:54 minute mark).
STPI Director Mark Lewis was quoted recently in Hypersonic Weapons: The Biggest Warfighting Disrupter Since Stealth Is Coming(Open external link), an article published by Investor’s Business Daily.
CARD researcher Irvin Boyles was coauthor of “On Becoming a Board-Qualified Chief Developmental Tester,” published in the ITEA Journal of Test and Evaluation, December 2017. The article was based research for IDA publication NSD-8033, Developmental Test and Evaluation “Shifting Left” to Improve Defense System Reliability, an SED task (unclassified final available to IDA staff through the library).
CARD Researcher Sarah Burns presented a case study – Analyses for accurate population modeling – at the Principles for Data-Driven Decision Making Symposium(Open external link) on September 14 at the Keck Center in Washington, DC. The case study was based on a previous IDA study: Analyses of Military Healthcare Benefit Design and Delivery: Study in Support of the Military Compensation and Retirement Modernization Commission(Open external link). The full video of her presentation is now available(Open external link).
STPI is cosponsoring a seminar series(Open external link) at the Smithsonian Air and Space museum on space policy. The first seminar in the series was December 11; the timing could not have been better given the President’s announcement(Open external link) directing NASA to send humans to the Moon. The seminar was standing room only.
STD’s Dexter Fletcher was quoted in an a recent Education Week article “How ‘Intelligent’ Tutors Could Transform Teaching(Open external link).” Dr. Fletcher’s article “Effectiveness of Intelligent Tutoring Systems – A Meta-Analytic Review(Open external link),” published in Review of Educational Research and earned him IDA’s 2016 Welch Award for Best External Publication.
David Saltman, Director of IDA’s Center for Communications Research-Princeton, was featured in the 2016 Annual Report of the American Mathematical Society(Open external link).
The editors of Space Weather have selected a paper by STPI researchers Becaja Caldwell and Seth Jonas – “An Abridged History of Federal Involvement in Space Weather Forecasting(Open external link)” to be featured as a Research Spotlight(Open external link) on both the EOS and journal websites. Research Spotlights summarize the research and findings of the best accepted articles for the broad Earth and space science community. The paper was developed from a presentation that the authors gave at the 2017 American Meteorological Society meeting(Open external link).
ITSD’s Greg Cox and Priscilla Guthrie’s article “Getting ‘Cyber’ Right for the Department of Defense(Open external link)” was published in the November 9 edition of War on the Rocks, an online platform for analysis, commentary, debate and multimedia content on foreign policy and national security issues through a realist lens.
ITSD researcher Steve Olechnowicz is listed as a significant contributor to a recently released publication of the National Institute of Standards and Technology: NIST Special Publication 800-181, NICE [National Initiative for Cybersecurity Education] Cybersecurity Workforce Framework(Open external link).
IAD research staff member and editor of IDA’s Africa Watch newsletter, former Ambassador George Ward(Open external link), was elected to the 2017 class of the American Academy of Diplomacy(Open external link). The Academy’s mission is to support and strengthen U.S. diplomacy and enhance public appreciation of its critical role in advancing the national interest. Academy members are former career and noncareer U.S. government officials who have served with distinction in international affairs.
STPI researcher William Doane is co-author of a recently published book, Knowing the Learner: A New Approach to Educational Information.
OED researcher Vincent Volpe has been selected to receive the 2018 American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics Survivability Award, which will be presented at the 2018 AIAA Science and Technology Forum and Exposition (SciTech 2018)(Open external link) in January. His citation will read: “For pioneering efforts as founding member of AIAA Survivability Technical Committee and more than 40 years of outstanding technical contributions to aircraft survivability community.”
STPI’s Bhavya Lal spoke at the 2017 Small Satellites for Space Weather Research and Forecasting workshop(Open external link). The workshop was the first dedicated scientific meeting focusing on specific needs of space weather studies using smallsat platforms. Her talk was titled Policy Challenges Related to Use of Small Satellites for Science Applications.
STPI researchers Hannah Acheson-Field and Leslie Abrahams spoke at the 2017 Grace Hopper Celebration of Women in Computing(Open external link) conference held in Orlando from October 4 – 6. They led a series of six discussions, primarily for students, on “Careers in Science and Technology Policy.” The Grace Hopper Celebration is a large and diverse conference, with more than 18,000 students, professionals, and academics in attendance this year.
SFRD’s Julia Burr and Lucas LaViolet are assisting NATO in developing exercises to improve the coordination of international medical response to chemical, biological, radiological, and nuclear (CBRN). This includes preparing scenarios and exercise injects for the NATO exercises.
ITSD’s Michael Fischerkeller will speak on October 18 at Ohio State University’s Mershon Center Speaker Series on Deterrence Is Not a Credible Strategy for Cyberspace(Open external link). His talk is based on IDA publication NSD-8394, which was published in the summer 2017 issue of Orbis(Open external link), a publication of the Foreign Policy Research Institute.
The NATO Chief Scientist, on behalf of the Supreme Allied Commander Transformation, invited SFRD’s David Alberts to present a keynote speech during the NATO 11th Operations Research and Analysis Conference, held in London, October 2 and 3, 2017. The NATO OR&A Conference brings together the analysis community from NATO commands and agencies, national defense analysis and research organizations, centers of excellence, academia, and industry. The theme of the conference this year was Enabling Accelerated Military Decision Making.
IDA welcomes SFRD’s new director, ADM John Harvey, USN (ret.)(Open external link), who takes over from Mike Dominguez. He will lead a staff of IDA researchers engaged in research on topics as diverse as nuclear weapons policy and strategy, organizational management and effectiveness, and force capability and force structure analyses.
Shelley Cazares of IDA’s Science and Technology Division was selected for a NASA closed-habitat experiment at the Johnson Space Center: Human Exploration Research Analog (HERA(Open external link)). During the experiment Dr. Cazares tweeted about her experience on her HERA mission via her personal handle @smcazares, hashtag #HERA_XIV(Open external link).
IAD’s David Rosenberg moderated two public symposiums to discuss recently CIA declassified original source documents(Open external link) and intelligence analyses of the Soviet Navy in the Cold War from the 1950s to the 1980s, which have been posted on the CIA’s FOIA website. The symposiums were a collaboration between the CIA and the Naval Historical Foundation, on whose board Dr. Rosenberg is a member.
OED researcher Matthew Avery and summer associate John Haman recently published ciTools to the Comprehensive R Archive Network (CRAN(Open external link)). The new IDA-developed R package allows researchers to easily to quantify uncertainty for predictions made in R, a free, open-source software program for performing statistical analysis. ciTools produces uncertainty intervals for model predictions for many common statistical models used at IDA. For more information and installation instructions, see the GitHub(Open external link) or the CRAN(Open external link).
CARD’s Brian Rieksts won two categories in the Real-Time Crime Forecasting Challenge(Open external link). Participants in the challenge forecasted hotspots for crime in Portland, Oregon. In February 2017, the participants submitted up to 20 forecasts for hotspots for different categories of calls-for-service and different time periods. The challenge was judged based on actual calls-for-service during March through May in 2017. Dr. Rieksts won categories for burglary and car theft over a three-month period scored with the prediction accuracy index.
